Newborn
by Bloody-Mad
Summary: A half-vampire child is found by the Cullens in a forest. Her name is Bella. As she spends time with the Cullens she grows and learns and loves, but will she ever learn of her gruesome past? Will she want to? HIATUS pple, sorry bout that.
1. Chapter 1

**EPOV**

My family and I had packed up our bags with a weeks worth of clothing, plus some extra changes. Sometimes, we could immerse ourselves a little too much in our hunts. We decided to commemorate our first summer back in forks with a week long hunting trip. While they took off for their hunts, I was already in hot pursuit of a mountain lion, my favorite animal.

I fast gained ground on the mountain lion, silent and unnoticed. My feet would make no sound on the ground, but the animals instincts would make it aware of the danger I presented. I alighted upon a branch, melting into the shadows of the tree's thick foliage. I watched as the golden furred animal cautiously sniffed the air. Continuous growls rolling up from his chest and out of his parted jaws. I jumped down from the branch quickly.

I was in no mood for games. The thrill of pretending as if the lion had any chance against me was in no way interesting at the moment. It was as if I was only here for one thing, and anything else was miscellaneous. What it is exactly that I'm waiting for is certainly a mystery.

I know that the family has felt it too. That's one of the major reasons we got out on this trip. Everybody has been feeling on edge, just waiting for . . . something, waiting for the proverbial storm to break. Alice has been nearly going crazy. All her visions of the hunting trip haven't come out clearly. Sometimes they were too blurry to define anything, and sometimes parts of the vision were blacked out. If it weren't for Jasper's restraining hands, poor Alice would have ripped all her hair out by now.

_**Edward come quickly**__. _Jasper called out to me mentally.

I tilted my head, listening more closely. Jasper rarely called out to me, and even when he did he never sounded so on edge. I panicked as thoughts of what could be wrong clouded my mind. Perhaps there was an accident, or maybe Jasper slipped up?

I ran in the direction I knew Jasper was in. As I ghosted through the forest, I allowed the rushing wind to calm me. As I calmed down I started to rationalize things.

_There is no need to panic, Edward, _I thought, _if anything were to happen Alice would have seen it coming and prevented it— _

My cell phone rang, jolting me out of my thoughts. I fished it out of my pocket and stared at it. The caller ID said Alice.

_Oh hell. _

In half a second, I flipped the phone open, pressed it to my ear and asked, "What has happened Alice?"

Her voice reached a very shrill decibel that made me wince.

"Edward it's here! The thing we've all been waiting for is _here_! _And Jasper is right where it is!"_

Then Alice's voice became panicked as she cried, "Oh, Edward! Is Jasper alright?!"

"He's fine Alice. I can smell him now, so I'm close to where he is."

"So am I. I'll be there along with the rest of the family 3 seconds after you."

We hung up, and I quickened my pace. I saw Jasper standing . . . someone. The funny thing was, he was standing over the person— who it looked like was a girl— protectively, like her guardian. I came to stand next to Jasper, and was so shocked by what I saw, I gasped.

The girl looked to be no older than 16, but I couldn't be sure. She was as pale as a vampire; her skin looked to be almost glowing. She had big, gorgeous doe eyes which I couldn't tell if they were amber or a warm chocolate brown, which were looking at us with innocent curiosity. Her hair was long, I could tell. It spilled down her back, cascading onto the ground in magnificent brunette curls that humans paid a lot of money for, and yet they could never hop to have the same hair. Her face was perfect and heart-shaped, with a cute button nose and full, pouty pink lips. I couldn't tell how tall she was, she was curled up on the ground, with her arms around her knees. She was so gorgeous—so absolutely beautiful—, and yet there was an air of childishness around her, as to make one think of her as adorable.

She was adorably beautiful, or perhaps beautifully adorable.

"Jasper . . ." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. He nodded, as if thinking the same thing.

_She is truly a beauty, the same, if not more beautiful as Rosalie and yet, when I think of her as beautiful, I can't help but think adorable. Can those two adjectives be used to describe someone?___ He was just as confused as I am, on how to place this creature.

"Everything about her would lead me to believe she's a vampire, but . . . do you hear that" Jasper murmured low enough for only me to hear.

Confused as to what he meant, I listened closely. My jaw dropped when I heard a heartbeat coming from the girl who I thought was a vampire. But there was something wrong with her heartbeat, it was too fast. It was like the heart of a hummingbird.

I knew the family was behind us now. I turned away, and Jasper shifted to allow them to see the child, but still held his guardian stance over the child. The family all gasped, and their thoughts washed over me.

_Oh my! Look at the poor, beautiful little thing. She's practically a baby, I wonder if she's hungry? _Esme asked in her thoughts.

It was no surprise to me that Esme immediately fell in love with the girl.

_AAAAAAWWWWWW! She is the most beautiful . . . no the most adorable . . . oh, I don't know, she's perfect is what she is! I wonder what she is doing here though. _Alice gushed.

Alice's thoughts were all squeals and concerns, and I got out of there before I subconsciously squealed.

_Ugh, I can't believe she's more beautiful than I am! And she has a heartbeat, what a freak. _Rosalie's thoughts were nothing but malicious, and I sent a warning growl at her. Rosalie sent me a snide sneer and a few expletives in her thoughts.

I turned my attention to Emmet, and was surprised by the tender and compassionate tenor of his thoughts.

_She is so cute, I can't believe nobody took her up and away already. That girl is coming home with us, and I'll make sure she smiles all the time. _I smiled in agreement with Emmet, and he grinned in response.

_Oh my, I can't believe it. I didn't think they existed!_

I turned to Carlisle, who was kneeling next to the girl. The girl had a small backpack that I never noticed before, held tightly to her chest. It was obvious she was shy and nervous, and she looked at the ground instead of Carlisle.

"Hello, little girl, what's your name?" Carlisle asked gently.

The girl looked up then, and stared at Carlisle.

Jasper spoke up. "Carlisle, she feels regretful of something. Why is that?"

"I wonder . . ." Carlisle mused. He held out his hand, and the girl looked at it, before looking at him and smiling a dazzling smile at him. It wasn't even a full smile, just a small one, but it was dazzling. His answering smile was large, showing his teeth, as the child placed her tiny hand in his.

_Goodness, the child's hands are so tiny, I'm afraid I'll crush it like a leaf. _Carlisle marveled in his head. I laughed at the thought of Carlisle using more force than he should on the child.

"Child, is there any thing you can tell us about who you are? Where you came from? What you are exactly?" Carlisle asked the girl gently. The girl cocked her head to the side at his questions, as if she was pondering them. Perhaps this meant she could understand us? Understanding brightened her eyes, and she snatched her hand from Carlisle.

She unzipped the tiny book bag she was clutching so tightly, rummaging around for a couple seconds before bringing up a thick white envelope.

She caressed the white envelope briefly, before pointing it over to Carlisle. "Nee." She said.

Carlisle looked at her shocked. "Excuse me?"

She pushed the envelope into his hand, saying softly again, "Nee."

_Perhaps that's the only way she knows to communicate, using vocals . . . sort of like an infant! _Jasper thought to me, fascination apparent in his thoughts. I moved closer to Carlisle, not missing that the girl gave me a sharp glance before turning back to Carlisle.

"Carlisle, Jasper thinks that she is communicating the only way she knows how; using vocals like an infant would. Perhaps she can understand the English language, but cannot herself use it?" I murmured low enough for only him to hear.

"Your theory is more than plausible, but I don't see how she could not know, she looks American to me. Although I could swear there's something Italian about her . . . at any rate, it can't be because she lost all her memories after the change. Alice still knew how to speak afterwards, I'm sure."

_Is she mentally challenge or something?_ Rosalie scoffed in her mind.

"If you don't shut the hell up, you will be in a minute." I growled at her. Jasper laughed and Rosalie hissed at both of us.

The child's stomach growled, bringing us back to the situation at hand. She actually blushed— something that caused all to go _Aww _in our minds— and she promptly dived into the bag again. She came out with a sandwich wrapped in a paper towel. She unfolded the paper towel, revealing one half of a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich that she took a single bite out of before rewrapping it and putting it back in the bag.\

_Isn't she going to eat something else?! _Esme's horrified thoughts matched my own. Did that girl eat nothing but a bite of a sandwich all this time?

_Poor little baby darlin', can't we just take her home already? I know we all want to. _Jasper's tender thoughts surprised me. I mean, I was thinking that too, but for him to get attached to the little girl is quite astounding.

"Thank you dear." Carlisle gently took the envelope from her. She smiled at him, still small, but still just as brilliant.

"So, shall we take her home?" I asked Carlisle. He nodded his head, and Alice squealed.

"Oh, thank you Carlisle! We can dress her up and—"

"Alice, we couldn't leave her here, she has nowhere to go. But that does not mean she is a doll for you to play with, or some pet, Alice. She's _human_ . . . well, half. Besides, maybe she doesn't want to stay with us." Carlisle explained calmly to Alice. Alice pouted, whining petulantly in her mind. I grimaced at her thoughts. Sometimes, Alice could be as selfish as Rosalie . . . and that's alarming.

"Carlisle, shouldn't we see of she can run with us?" Jasper asked.

"You're right. Perhaps she's as fast as a vampire . . . considering, again, if she's healthy enough."

"But, Carlisle," Esme argued, "If Bella decides to stay, I'm sure we can do all those tests later. Can't somebody just carry her now? She seems to have only had that one sandwich; I don't think we should risk her health like that."

"She's right! I could carry the little tiger, if you want." Emmet's voice boomed out, and I glared at him, thinking he scared the child. But when I turned to look at her, I saw her staring at Emmet curiously. She smiled at him, a bigger smile than I'd seen her smile, but it was still sort of small. But it was even more stunning than her previous smile.

_My, my, this child is a star. Blinding and perfect. _Carlisle said fondly in his mind. I was surprised, she had captured the hearts and attentions of the family— well, the part that counted.

"No, I'll carry her. I am the fastest, anyway." I said.

"Yeah, and I could keep up with Edward, unlike you Em." Jasper said smugly, his smirk oozing cockiness. Emmet opened his mouth to challenge jasper, but I cut him off, quickly growing irritated.

"Jasper, Emmet, not now." I snapped. They turned to me, and backed down with a nod of their head. I turned back to the child now, walking slowly towards her. She regarded me with child like curiosity, her eyes twinkling. I knelt down in front of her, smiling serenely, so as not to make her wary of me. She looked at my smile, studying it.

"Hello." I made my voice intentionally smoother, and I'm sure to her it sounded like flowing velvet. "My name is Edward Cullen, and we would like to take you home with us for a little. Would you like to?"

She looked up, scrunching up her nose like a little kid trying to remember something. Her eyes lighted up with remembrance and understanding. She looked back at me and nodded her head slowly, purposely. I smiled at her, showing a bit of my teeth. Her face lit up, and she clapped her hands with delight. I laughed.

"I'm going to carry you on my back, so we can run home. Can you get on my back?" I asked her.

She looked at me, confused. She didn't understand what that is, I realized.

I turned to Jasper. "Japer, help me with her. She doesn't know what a piggyback ride is apparently." I smiled at him, and he smiled back, laughing. He walked to the child, and she turned her head to him, smiling her stunningly small smile. He bent down, and gathered her in his arms. She looked surprised when he scooped her up off the ground with ease. He saw her look of surprise too, and said softly to her, "I ate my vegetables."

We all laughed. Jasper then held her securely under her arms, and her legs dangled above the ground. I saw now that she was quite short, maybe 5'2 or 5'3. She didn't look scared; she looked like she was waiting to see what we would do. Jasper put her gently on my back, wrapping her arms around my neck, and she instinctively tightened her hold around my neck. She seemed to have understood, because she wrapped her legs around my waist on her own.

"Good girl." I murmured to her, and I felt her smile timidly into my neck. Turning to Carlisle I asked him, "Shall we go now?"

Carlisle nodded. "yes, and then we can read this letter together in the living room. Rosalie, Alice, you take the cars back home." Emmet and Carlisle gave them the keys to their cars. Rosalie and Alice took them and disappeared into the forest, running towards the area they were parked.

I nodded, and then started off running towards home. I heard the family trailing behind a few miles away, and Jasper was only 3 yards away from me. Of course, I wasn't really going my fastest. But I was anxious to go as fast as I could.

I wanted to know everything about this tiny, perfect child.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey-o! What it do readers? I know how much you've been wanting this, so . . . her it is at long last! Sorry for the wait, but it's been pretty hectic over here you know? And i've beent rying like crazy to get my mom to transfer me to another school. I'll try to get the next chapter up quicker os, for now, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Do i own twilight? No, unless in my dreams count!**

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We soon arrived at the house, and I felt Bella's tiny arms tighten around my neck. I turned to see what scared her, and instead I found myself holding back a laugh at the child's awe-struck expression. She turned to look at me with those widened doe eyes.

"That is my family's house." I told her. She returned her big eyes back to staring at the house. I muffled my chuckles with my hand, and turned to look at Jasper. He smiled widely at me; his shoulder's shaking with the effort to suppress his laughter. Soon, all the family had arrived at the house, Rosalie and Alice parking the cars while the others slowly stopped behind Jasper and I.

Bella gave them all a small smile, and their thoughts practically oozed love for this stray waif. Well, except for Rosalie, she just grudgingly admitted to herself that she did indeed have a great smile. I raised an eyebrow at her.

_Look, even I notice how adorable and gorgeous she is. I'm not blind Edward. _Rosalie snapped at me in her thoughts. I was about to laugh, but then something struck me as odd in her thoughts. Did Rosalie just . . . ?

She turned to me at the exact same time as my discovery, almost like _she _was the mind reader.

_Look, perhaps I was a little hasty in my judgment of her. I can admit I was clouded by jealousy, and the fear of having to move again. And, considering how when Alice got a vision of what was in the letter and started dry sobbing, I feel I ought to give her a fair chance. She could grow on me like she did everybody else. _Rosalie explained in her thoughts. I smiled reassuringly at her.

"As long as you try, that's what counts." The family didn't bother to ask what I meant; because they already had a fairly good idea of what it was I was talking about. We were all still standing out here, soEsme was the first one to take the initiative.

"Shall we head inside? I'm sure there's something I could fix the child to eat while we read what she gave us." Esme said as she started walking up the porch steps of the house. We all followed her lead, and walked into the living room. Jasper, Alice, and I went over to the couch. Gently, I retracted Bella's hands from my shirt, and slipped her off my back and around to face me. I softly placed her on the couch next to Alice, and I sat down on her other side.

We all waited patiently as we heard Esme rooting around in the kitchen, searching for something for the child to eat. Soon enough, she came back in with a plate of soda crackers and a turkey sandwich, and a glass of apple juice. She held it out for the girl, and she took it delightedly, looking at Esme and smiling at her. This, I knew, was her true smile, and we were all utterly stunned by the magnitude of her smile's beauty.

_Good Lord, how can she be so utterly perfect?! _Esme cooed in her thoughts.

_It should be illegal to be that cute. _Carlisle thought, amusement coloring his thoughts.

_I can't believe I'm thinking this . . .but, I think . . . I think she's cuter than Alice! _Jasper thought in shock. Oh, she is WAY beyond Alice, I snorted in my head. She took cute and adorable to a whole new level. Jasper was the one to break me out of my thoughts.

"She's feeling gratitude Esme; I think she means to thank you." He said, looking at the girl. She smiled at him thankfully, and Jasper just smiled back.

"Well, now that she's currently preoccupied, why don't we just read this letter?" Carlisle asked calmly, looking to others for confirmation. We all nodded our heads grimly, and it didn't escape my attention that Alice's tiny hands were balled up tightly into fists.

Taking a deep breath, Carlisle carefully opened the envelope and took out two full pages. Arranging the letters, he began to read them.

_To Whom It May Concern:_

_I f you are reading this, then no doubt you have happened upon a small girl whose beauty simply stuns. Her name is Isabella Marie Swan, but we believe she prefers Bella; an instinct from her human life. Her age is something you'll have to decide because on the third day of her transformation, she turned 16. So she could either be 15 or 16 to you. _

_Now, it may have already crossed your mind to take Bella into your home, but first you must read her history— at least as much of it as concerns you. Then, you can make the right decision._

_We found Bella three weeks before we transformed her. She was living in the basement of a two-story house, with naught but a dog bed to sleep in, and a dirty blanket to keep her warm. We watched the child carefully the entire week. The parents, who are named Charlie and Renee Swan, were abusing this child, and keeping her from outside contact. It appears that Bella had never gone outside, never even seen the sun. They kept her locked up in the basement like a prisoner. She was rarely fed, except for when her parents decided she had starved enough. And when they decided that, they threw down a loaf of bread, maybe cold soup or their leftovers that they no longer wanted._

_They treated Bella like some sort of unwanted pet that they wished gone, but were unable to get rid of. How they could treat a child like that is beyond me. And the fact that she had lived like this for so long! It makes me mad just thinking about it. She was, even as a human, a beautiful thing, so it made no sense how they could treat her like dirt under their feet._

_It infuriated us, but what could we do? We could only give Bella the food we could find, like an apple or a pie stolen from a neighbor's window where it sat to cool. We discovered that while they talked around Bella, their words were not at all pleasant, and they beat her if she tried to communicate at all; which is why she cannot talk, but understands English perfectly well. She never complained, never uttered a sound when the parents came down to beat her, which served to infuriate them more and beat her more. _

_Finally, at the end of three weeks, we could not take any more. Fortunately, God believed the same thing, since a fire broke out in their house, and Bella escaped while Charlie and Renee burned down to hell. Bella recognized us as the ones who gave her extra food, and came with us without fear. This, in retrospect was strange seeing as she knew nothing but cruelty and mistreatment but she still came willingly with us. And we're Vampires!_

_Unfortunately, Bella was much too weak, and we couldn't take her to the hospital. Her body was threatening to give out on her, so we did the only thing we could do. My husband bit her so she could change into one of us. However, complications of some sort happened, and she became half-vampire. We still don't know how this happened, but we're just thankful she survived the pain of the change. We kept Bella with us, and taught her a few basic things. We taught her to bathe in a shower, since she only had a pale of water and soap to use back at that place. We showed her what the grass and trees are, the names of the animals in the forest, and what we, vampires, were. We also learned some things about half-vampires. They can ingest both food and blood, but since they can eat, they don't need to hunt except for every three months maybe. They have extremely fast heartbeats, and they are just as fast, and just as strong as any other vampire. In addition, Bella remembers very little of her human life it seems. So, please tread lightly, I don't want to burden her unnecessarily with such terrible things. _

_However, 6 months after we got little Bella, we were forced to let her go due to circumstances beyond our control. It seems our coven was intimidated and fearful of her, so we were forced to let her go, or Bella, my husband, and I would die. So, it is with a heavy heart and sobbing figure that I right this letter. I wish that you would disregard this letter, and take her in just because she needs someone. But I know all to well that some will find her background to mean that she's more trouble than she's worth. But, I wish you would not think that, for Bella is a shining diamond, a sparkling ruby, a glittering ray of sunshine. With her, she needs no words for you to understand what she means to convey. All you need is to look into her yes for the answer's you seek._

_I won't plead for you to take her. But, if you wish to take her, whoever you are, I thank you from the very bottom of my now burning heart. If you choose to let go of her, simply replace this letter back in the envelope and send her off. But, it wouldn't be too much trouble if you could supply her with something to eat, would it?_

_Sincerely,_

_Xoxo Daniel and Macy xoxo_

Carlisle finished the letter tiredly, putting it down on the table. Alice and Esme were dry sobbing into their hands, their mates comforting them as best as they could while trying to reign in their own emotions. Rosalie had curled up into Emmet's side, her arms locked around her knees, her chin balancing on her knees. Emmet was rubbing his hand up and down Rosalie's back, all the while thinking how sick some people could be. I completely agreed with him.

I felt the girl— _Bella_, I corrected myself mentally— shift, and I turned my head to look at her. She looked uncomfortable, and was playing nervously with her hands in her lap. I gently nudged her with my shoulder, making her look up in confusion.

"We don't think any less of you, you know. We still love you." I told her gently.

Bella looked at me, surprise coloring her features. "Eh?" She squeaked. I laughed, and nodded my head.

"He's right. We sure do. Matter of fact, I know that I'd like nothing more than for you to stay with us." Jasper said, reaching his hand over Alice to ruffle Bella's hair. She smiled, showing her pearly white teeth, and my heart immediately swelled with affection at seeing her happy. This angel should never know sadness ever again— and she wouldn't either, I'd see to it.

"So, can she stay Carlisle?" Alice asked, bouncing in her seat. We all looked at Carlisle anxiously, and I couldn't tell what the verdict was because he was guarding his thoughts. He looked at us all, his eyes slowly roving about the room. Suddenly, one side of his mouth lifted in a smirk, and he locked eyes with us.

"Did you really expect me to say _no_?" he chuckled.

"Yes!" Alice, Jasper, and Emmet shouted.

Rosalie flitted over to me and Bella, encasing Bella in a warm hug. Well, as warm as she could manage. Esme came over and did the same thing. Bella, broke out of Esme's embrace, and crossed over to where Carlisle was across the room, in one single bound. Eagerly, she wrapped her arms around his middle, and giggled giddily. Her laughter was like bells pealing in a cathedral. Absolutely beautiful.

_Oh dear, I seem to be drowning in cuteness. _Carlisle cooed affectionately in his mind. I was a trifle surprised to see such adoring emotion displayed so clearly in Carlisle's mind, and on his face. He was usually so calm and serene. Then again, Bella was so utterly precious, I suppose he had a valid enough reason.

"Oh my goodness, Esme, Rosalie, we have to get out of here now!" Alice squealed, dancing up the stairs and to her room.

"But why? I want to stay with Bella." Rosalie pouted, irritated at Alice's whiplash ways.

"We have to get her furniture, right away!" Alice trilled enthusiastically.

"She is right, but we won't be able to get everything tonight. Where shall she sleep in the meantime?" Esme said, concerned.

"How about Edward's room? She seems to be especially attached to me, but she likes him quite a bit too." Jasper drawled.

I looked down to see Bella huddled up against my side. How did she get there with out me noticing? Ah well, I don't really care. Her warmth was lovely to feel.

"Bella, would you like something to eat?" Esme asked kindly. Bella looked at her thoughtfully, before prancing over to Esme's side, twining her fingers with Esme's like a little girl. She nodded her head emphatically, smiling brilliantly at Esme.

If possible, Esme melted even more, smiling largely at Bella as she led her to the kitchen.

_Dear me, I should go grocery shopping soon. The selection here just isn't enough I think, and it won't do if Bella doesn't particularly like something I made for her._ Esme mused in her thoughts. I smiled serenely at my mother's thoughts; Esme was always striving to give us the best mother she could possibly be.

Rosalie and Alice quickly raced out the door, their determination and credit cards at the ready.

"Don't overdo it girls! I really don't think she needs the whole inventory the furniture stores can give!" Esme called out, half mocking yet half serious. We laughed at the truth of her statement. If Alice saw fit, she would buy out the entire chain of stores. It almost happened once; with Coach . . . we don't talk about it.

My attention was grabbed by Bella as she skipped out of the kitchen with a near blissful expression on her face. It made me both happy to see her happy, and yet it mad me mad that she would be as happy about something as simple as a meal. I was glad those monsters she called parents were dead and hopefully in the place where monsters such as them belonged.

"Come along, Bella," Jasper called. "I'll show you where the dining room is so you can eat there." Gently taking her hand, he took her to the dining room which we only used occasionally for when we have very important family meetings where we must vote. Otherwise we just had them in the living room.

Bella craned her head around, looking for something. When her eyes landed on me, her face lit up, and she beckoned to me with a motion of her head since her hands were occupied. Smiling, I followed them, and the rest of the family did to.

She sat down, and happily dug in to her food. She apparently was too engrossed in enjoying the food to realize she had five vampires gazing with interest as she ate.

"You know, I really would like to do a few tests. I want to see how fast she is, how strong she is. I know the letter said she was like a regular vampire, but each vampire is different in those aspects, aren't they?" Carlisle mused, regarding Bella in both a warm and curious manner.

"Well, there is plenty of time for that. Let's just focus on getting her settled in and familiar with everything." Esme scolded Carlisle gently, though the loving smile on her face made Carlisle smile at her with just as much love. I lowered my head next to Bella's and whispered in her ear, "They're so lovely-dovey aren't they? It's so _gross_."

Bella raised her hand to her mouth and giggled, nodding her head emphatically. Jasper played along, whispering in Bella's other ear, "Yeah, it makes you want to puke." And Jasper put a finger halfway in his mouth, mock-gagging. Bella laughed harder, pressing her hand to her mouth in an attempt to muffle it. Jasper and I snickered along with her.

Esme and Carlisle just shook their heads at us, holding back their own chuckles. As I looked down on our new family member, her cheeks crimson and eyes glowing, I knew she would be the one to make this family more complete than it was before.

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	3. Hush little Baby

**FORGIVE ME, CUZ I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh, well my progress report sucked so i couldn't get this up cuz i was sorta banned from the internet, and tenth grade really blows! but, it's here, and there will be more soon.**

**Disclaimer: AHAHAHA! HAHA! AHHHAAAAAAA!!!! Oh don't mid me, i'm just laughing cuz you obviously think i'm stephanie meyer. WELL jokes on you!**

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"Alice, where will Bella sleep? We don't have a guest room ready for her." Edward asked sweet Alice.

"Why, in your room of course brother." Alice said, her tinkling laughter mischievous.

"Is that why you insisted on that bed 3 weeks ago? I thought you couldn't see Bella!" Edward growled angrily. Huh, so that was her plan. And here I thought he would find his mate . . . ah well.

"I couldn't then, and I still can't now! But I _could _see you would need a bed." Alice explained huffily.

Ah, that seemed to be all we talk about now, and will likely talk about for some time. The arrival of our newest member, young Isabella. Her name more than suited her, and her nickname Bella is all the more appropriate. Our family is more connected than we were before because of her. Sure, we lived together and talked, vacationed together and such . . . but we have really been communicating with each other now, and all becasue of a tiny little girl who made a nest in our hearts.

I tuned out the rest of their bickering, my lovely Esme and me sharing an amused glance. I had her nestled in my arms, as I began thinking about our newest daughter. Bella was practically a baby, she was only 16! Or 17, depending on when you thought we died, but I prefer 16. It angered me that such a sweet child was objected to having such disappointing parents. How could someone be so, horrid, to their own flesh and blood?

Edward growled menacingly. I chuckled at his well justified ire.

_Yes, I know that isn't exactly the way you would word it. _I thought.

Edward snorted, and I had to work to hold back a laugh. I felt a tug on the hem of my jeans leg, I looked down, and smiled wider when I saw Bella sitting by my legs looking up at me with her sparkling doe eyes.

"What is it my darling?" I asked her patiently.

She took a fistful of hair, and held it up for me to see. Indeed, I saw that her hair as matted with dirt, and bits of leaves were sticking in it.

"How terrible of me! You probably want a bath, of course." I cooed, mentally chastising myself. Bella nodded her head, her smile blooming large and beautiful. I don't think one could ever get used to the excess of happiness found in just one of her smiles.

"Oh Bella, I'm sorry! Come on then, Esme and I will help you wash up." Alice trilled, grabbing Bella by the hand and helping her up. As she and Bella skipped up the stairs, Esme calmly walked after them.

Alice called over her shoulder, "Rosalie, could you find Bella some pajamas to wear? The poor lamb probably wants to sleep." I turned to watch Rosalie, not a trace of the dubious thoughts I had showing on my face. Rosalie didn't exactly make it secret what she thought of Bella. Her tenacity always astounds me, especially when dealing with an adorable creature like Bella, and she still manages to hate her.

So imagine my surprise when ROSALIE nodded and stood saying, "Yes, I think we'll have to use mine or Esme's pajamas, she's curvier than you."

"But, she's about as tall as me. Give or take a couple inches." Alice's voice trilled to us from the bathroom, where we could hear the water rushing from the faucet, and filling the tub.

Rosalie considered this, tilting her head to the side. "Well, I suppose, we could just roll up the sleeves on the pants, since she wouldn't be tall enough." She decided, and then flitted up the stairs to look for pajamas for Bella. I looked around at my sons, seeing what they were going to do. Edward sighed and stood up, walking towards the staircase.

"I suppose I shall go ready the bed for our new addition." He said loftily, but I could here the smile in his voice. If she was to stay in his room, he would have more time with her. As he disappeared up to the next floor, I turned my attention back to Emmet and Jasper.

Jasper raised his hands up. "I have to make sure Bella's emotions are in a stable range." I smirked, and then turned to Emmett. He just stood there for a couple of minutes, eyes darting around wildly.

"I . . . um, I uh . . . I will go and buy Bella some more food!" He shouted, and then he ran to his jeep. I was surprised he would volunteer himself for that.

"He figures since he used to hear the kids in the school talk about their favorite foods and snacks, he should be able to make a reasonable guess s to what Bella would like. It's a very smart thing to do, honestly." Edward's voice carried down to me. I smiled at Emmett's thoughtfulness, and then got up myself to get all my medical equipment down here and ready. I was hoping to examine Bella as to ascertain her health. I just hope that her being half-human means they will work on her.

As I prepared the living room and brought down my sterilized utensils, I kept an ear open to make sure Bella wasn't uncomfortable or scared. I could hear Esme humming a song, _most likely to keep Bella happy_, I thought with a smile. Alice was muttering to herself what outfit would look best on Bella once she got out the shower. Ah, that reminds me . . .

"Alice," I said sternly. "I don't want you overwhelming the child, okay? No playing Barbie Bella, _at all _or the child might just bolt." I heard the others trying to smother their laughter in vain, and Alice huffing moodily as I foiled her plans. Nonetheless, she consented, and that was enough for me.

"OK, Bella! Your hair is all nice and dry now. My, you have the prettiest hair in the world!" Esme cooed to our new daughter. Alice was skipping around her room, so I assume she was picking out Bella's outfit.

"Bella, over here please! Yes, that's right sit down on the bed— ah ha! Now, how about this top? And with some dark blue jeans, or shorts? Oh, you want the shorts? Ok then, well, I think maybe we could use a—"

A terrified scream cut through the air, short and piercing. _Bella. _Automatically, I dropped whatever was in my hands and dashed up the stairs. I immediately burst into Alice's room, and I could feel Edward, Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie behind me.

I spotted Bella, crouched like an angry cat, but she was visibly shaking in fear. Her eyes were wide and frightened, looking at something on the bed. I turned to see the offending item, and saw a black leather belt with a large, intricately-designed brown buckle. Why on Earth . . . ?

"What on Earth happened, Bella? What did I do wrong?" Alice asked, mystified— looks like she and I were on the same page. Esme was the first to figure it out.

"Oh no, Bella!" Esme cried, and she looked like she would be crying if she could. She walked swiftly toward Bella, but froze when Bella sent out a warning hiss. Esme approached her more carefully now, more slowly. She bent down to extend her hand in Bella's direction. The rest of the family and I were still stock still, too confused to know where we should go.

Suddenly, Edward let out a horrific snarl. I whipped around to chastise him— what if it made Bella worse?!— Until I saw his expression, and how he was looking at Bella and Esme.

"Esme, explain why Bella reacted in that way." Edward growled out, his eyes pitch black and getting darker if my eyes weren't deceiving me.

"Oh Bella, Alice wasn't going to _hit _you with that belt. She would never— not any of us would dare lay a hand on you." Esme whispered sadly, her hand still held out.

Rosalie gasped and Emmett and Jasper growled angrily. Alice cried out, her hand held to her mouth in horror. Edward and I groaned simultaneously. How could I not have seen this? I should have realized the belt would probably trigger something in her memories.

"Bella, I wasn't going to I swear." Alice said, her voice trembling. Bella lifted her head, and looked at Jasper, head tilted.

"She means it Bella. Her and Esme, they wouldn't hurt you. Neither would we." Jasper murmured in a soothing voice. Bella grinned and shot him a playful glare before turning to Esme. She gripped Esme's fingers in one hand, and lightly patted Esme's hand with the other.

Jasper laughed incredulously, and soon Edward joined in.

"What?" I asked them curiously. I didn't get the joke between the two of them.

"Well, when Bella glared at me, all playful and such, she shook off my clam waves I was sending to her. She just calmed right down herself and she was sending emotions of playfulness and mock accusation, almost like she was saying, _'Don't try and mess with _my _emotions Jasper.'_" Jasper explained, his southern accent coming out quite a nit more than it normally does even when he doesn't realize it.

We all laughed, and then turned to look at Bella. Esme had successfully coaxed Bella from getting up from the floor, and was currently shooing us out the door. We allowed her, saying bye to Bella. Bella giggled, a high tinkling sound, and waved.

As we walked down to the living room, I said, "I think we need to lay down some ground rules." I said, and the others nodded. We settled down in the couches and chairs spread out around the living room, before I spoke again. Edward, Jasper, and Alice respectively were sitting on the couch. Emmet sat down in the recliner; Rosalie perched next to him on the armrest. I sat in the love seat, waiting for Esme. She flitted to my side, as if she had heard me call her, and leaned against me our arms automatically wrapping around each other.

"Okay, from the letter, it appears that Bella remembers little to nothing about her past. And, I for one would like to _keep _it that way." I paused as the others nodded their heads, eyes black when remembering what Bella forgot.

"So, we have to be careful. The smallest thing could trigger her memory, and possibly hurt her mental health. The terrible thing is, these monsters could have done anything to Bella, and we wouldn't know we were triggering a memory until it was too late. So, for now, think general. No brandishing of spoons, knives, belts or any other such things that could generally have been used on Bella. Understood?"

"Yes Carlisle." My children murmured. Wait a minute that reminds me—

"Emmett, it thought you went to the store to get Bella food?" I asked him. Emmett grinned sheepishly and held up the three bags he got.

"Well, I admit I was speeding more than I ought to have been. And the Thriftway was surprisingly near empty. So I just shoved some stuff in the cart, paid and got out. I didn't want to miss any of the little tike's moments." I shook my head affectionately at my son.

Suddenly, Bella shot down the stairs, standing right in front of me. The child was quite fast— maybe as fast as Edward?

Edward raised his eyebrows in thought, as if determining the possibility of this. I returned my attention to Bella who had pranced over to Edward and Jasper. She raised her arms and spun around— she must be showing off to Edward and Jasper. I can tell she's going to be those two's shadow. It'll be adorable to see.

"Well, look at you little lady, all scrubbed up and nice-lookin'." Jasper drawled warmly.

"You look absolutely lovely little lamb." Edward said gently, standing up and giving her another twirl, Bella's laughter seemed to bounce off the walls and hit us like clouds— soft and wonderful.

I made a promise right then and there, not only to myself, but to my family.

Bella's laughter would never be silenced again.

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**I know it's selfish of me to ask, but i IMPLORE you to review. Have i lost my touch? Or am i back and better than ever? Well, i know the length is short but . . . **


	4. Whats that? Whaddya mean you dont know?

**Darling readers, can you ever forgive me? i know, it's been so long since i updated, but school has nearly overwhelmed me. I'm afraind, it will be like that for sometime as well. The next time i will be able to update isn't until Dec. 18, the day before Winter break down here in Miami.**

**So, if i'm lucky, i might be able to post two chapters for New born, and 1 for Twilight's Reign. Depending on if i have time to write. So, without fourther ado!**

**Discalaimer: (picks up phone and dials) Hello? Yes, Stephanie Meyer? hi, i was calling to askif i could perhaps _borrow _Twilight for a little while? oh, they're on vacation? I see, then . . . (SOB) i'll NEVER get them. They've been on vacation for 6 MONTHS!!!**

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"Bella, would you like to watch a movie?" I asked the small girl, who was strangely fascinated with the swaying boughs of the trees in the forest. It had been noticed by all of the household how taken Bella was with such simple things like the moon and stars. Or birds chirping and flying through the air. There was an incident this week where we thought we had lost Bella. We looked for her in the house, calling her name, but it dawned on us with horror that perhaps she had ventured into the forest. We all raced out, searching for her.

We found her an hour later, 15 miles from the house, watching the ripples of a small pond each time she dipped her fingers in. She also clutched a bouquet of an assortment of wildflowers native to Washington. We were so relieved that we all just crumpled to the floor by Bella, watching her watching the pond and her reflection with childlike amazement. Afterwards, she thrust the flowers at Edward giving off a curious emotion. Esme and Edward were more than happy to identify the flowers, and were greatly rewarded with one of Bella's supernova smiles.

Now, I held out three choices of movies for her to pick so the family could watch. I saw her deliberate between the two, her emotions confused and frustrated.

"What's the matter Bella? You don't like these movies?" I asked her, trying to understand. She shook her head, but her expression told me it wasn't the 'no' I thought she meant. She shook her head to tell me, _no, I'm not saying that. _

"Well then? Haven't you ever seen these movies?" I prompted her. She shook her head, this time a direct 'no' to my question. My brows briefly furrowed before I realized the stupidity of my question. Bella lived in a basement her entire life; of course she wouldn't have seen these!

I smiled at her. "Well that's alright, I suppose I'll just choose a movie, okay?" I selected Cinderella and popped the DVD into the player. In an instant, everybody had congregated into the living room, snuggling up with their mates, except for Edward who had joined Bella— who was on her stomach, her feet swinging in the air— on the floor by our couch, propped up on his elbows.

_Save it for the photo shoot Rico Suave. _I jeered at him mentally, and Edward just casually grinned at me, tilting his head so he could look at me, saying cheerily, "Jealous." We both laughed, and waved off the other's questions by claiming it was a private joke. Alice pouted next to me, and I knew without a doubt I would be telling her what had transpired between Edward and I. Whoa, wait . . . . That sounded kind of wrong there . . .

We were only half paying attention to the movie. We were all more focused on Bella's reactions to the movie, which, like her, left us confused. What I mean by that is . . . It looked like Bella had no idea what was going on in the movie at all. We originally chalked it up to her having never seen these movies but, something didn't sit well with me about that. When we finished Cinderella, I asked Bella if she wanted to see another movie. Still giving off vibes of confusion, she nodded her head quickly, almost absentmindedly. I switched Cinderella with Sleeping Beauty. As the movie progressed, it was amusing to see Bella's chagrin grow as she saw that the princesses in both movies were fair blonde beauties.

I leaned down to Bella's ear. "Don't you fret little one, there's a brunette princess too, just especially for you. Her name is even similar to yours."

Edward, dutifully following my lead like a proper big brother acted like he was whispering conspiratorially with Bella, even though he knew we could hear him and said, "And personally, I think that one's the best princess of them all." Bella's giggled— a sound like tinkling tiny bells— when Edward gave her an exaggerated wink behind his hand.

_Are we pathetic for being whipped by just the sound of her laugh? _I pondered, thought he thought was directed at Edward. He shrugged, nodding his head. We laughed, and the family gave us bemused looks, not bothering to ask what was happening. They knew that 98% of our conversations were meant for our ears— or rather, minds— only.

I returned my attention to Bella again when she grasped my fingers in her hand. Her hand was so small; she couldn't hold my entire hand. She was a very small little girl, even for a 15 or 16-year-old. Then again, she was only 5'3".

"What can I do for you little lady?" I asked her. She pointed to something on the screen, the noble steed of Prince Charming. Didn't she know what a horse was?

"That's a horse. Not sure what the breed is, it _is _a cartoon after all," I joked, but she must not have gotten it. She carried on, pointing to the dress Princess Aurora had on.

"That's a dress." I said cautiously, trying to figure out what was going on. She rolled her eyes, annoyance spiking at me. Like she was trying to say, _I know that silly! _

"Well then what are you asking for, what?" She pointed to the pink dress, and then to Alice's shirt, which was also pink . . . wait a minute; she wanted to know what pink was?

"That's the color pink." I said, more than a little perturbed. Edward had risen on to one knee, also becoming distressed. He walked to the television and paused the movie. He pointed to Prince Charming's sword.

"Bella, do you know what this is?" he asked her warily, and then his face twisted with concern when she shook her head no. He picked up the DVD case for Cinderella, and pointed to the carriage.

"What about this?" He asked, and she shook her head, her annoyance growing. Suddenly, it dawned on me, and I groaned with frustration, and Edward buried his face in his hand, a feral growl coming from his chest.

"What's wrong?" Esme asked, alarmed by Edward's growl. I shook my head, subtly looking at Bella and indicating that I didn't want to have the conversation while she was awake and in the same room. It would make her feel uncomfortable.

"Bella honey, shall we go look for some flowers?" I turned to Alice when she spoke, and understood her intentions immediately when I saw the sadness in her eyes. She had already seen this conversation.

"That's a good idea Alice. Just be back before sunset?" Carlisle agreed, looking at Edward and me speculatively. While Bella and Alice trooped out into the forest, the rest of the family moved to the dining room. We only used that room for family conversations, and this was one of those important times.

Carlisle, who had reclined at the head of the table, threaded his fingers together. "Alright, boys, what seems to be the root of your vexation?"

Edward and I glanced at each other dubiously, asking the other silently who would explain. Edward decided it would be him.

"At first, we noticed Bella was confused the entire time while watching Cinderella. We originally chalked it up to her never seeing it before. But then, during the second movie her confusion increased, as did her anxiety. Jasper figured it out first, and what popped into his mind made absolute sense! I couldn't believe we didn't see that coming. Bella pointed to Prince Charming's sword, and asked what it was, and Jasper answered. Then she asked what _color _Aurora's dress was. At first it was like, how could she not know what pink was? But then jasper figured it out. Bella has been living in a basement. All she _knows _is _darkness._ The only color she understands is _black. _And, if you all would remember the letter, the couple had to teach Bella about trees and all that. So, how could we have expected her to know what pink is? What a sword is? It makes sense now, looking back and wondering why she is so fascinated with the sun. So taken with the forest. She has never _seen _the sun. She hadn't felt the sun on her skin before."

For a minute, all you could hear was a shocked silence. We all sat stone still— too still. Esme broke the chain when she raised a trembling hand to her mouth.

"O-Oh. I never . . . I didn't realize that it would be that way. . . how could we not have known?" She spoke brokenly. Carlisle pulled her into his side, rubbing his hand gently up and down her arm.

"We never considered it. We are too used to this freedom we have, too accustomed to the fact that humans can at worst be rude and crass, but never monsters like that. The only one who does . . ." His eyes darted quickly to Edward, who caught this with a grimace. All our eyes did. "At any rate, this needs to be considered in a new light. We must assume that Bella knows very little if anything of the outside world. As a result this summer will be spent educating her on not only the proper way of living as a human, but the finer points of being a vampire, as far as we are able to."

"I believe the best way to do that would be to assign her teachers. We could each teach her something." Edward offered.

"That's a good idea Edward. But, don't you think we ought to give her some sort of assessment, to see where exactly we should start from. I say this because, you know, I could swear I see Bella looking at your office, Carlisle, with what looks like a bit of interest and wistfulness. Like she wishes she could go in there and borrow a book. If she understands us, is it not safe to say she can already read? Perhaps her previous caretakers taught her, and instructed her in other subjects well; they were just never able to continue her instruction because they had to let her go." Esme said the last part with a distasteful grimace, like she didn't exactly believe the words in her own mouth.

"You know, I noticed that too. She would sometimes pace in front of Carlisle's office when he wasn't there, then flit to the door like she was about to open it, and then flit away down the stairs." I added, realizing how right Esme was in her observation.

"Flit? Since when did we use adjectives to describe how someone walks?" Carlisle asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Fairies don't walk; they flit and flutter, and dance and float and glide. That's what Bella does. She can never _walk_." Edward explained with an exaggerated tone of patronizing. We laughed at his air of teasing. So rarely was Edward ever in a mood to tease and banter with the rest of us. When he did feel the occasion warranted his wit, it was a refreshing thing indeed.

"Back to the matter at hand." Carlisle stopped his laughter with a sharp playful glance at Edward.

"We need to assign Bella teachers—" Carlisle was interrupted when his cell phone rang. He flipped it open and put it to his ear.

"What is it Alice?" Carlisle asked into the phone. We could all hear Alice's excited squeal and Bella's peals of laughter.

"I want to be Bella's current events teacher!" Alice screamed into the phone. Carlisle wrenched the phone away from his ear, blinking rapidly as he shook his head slowly. Slowly returning the phone to his ear, he cautiously replied, "Of course, Alice, no one else would be better suited for the job. I must ask, however, that you not limit her education to the latest line of Prada."

Alice huufed, grumbling she knew that already. I chuckled at my love's antics. I paid attention when my love's voice became panicked.

"Argh! Bella, no! Get down from that tree, you'll slip and fall!" Alice shrieked. We all tensed and Carlisle said sharply, "Alice get Isabella down from that tree!"

"I know tha— Ahh!"

W heard the phone from to the ground and"oof!" comes from Bella.

"Alice did she fall?!" I said loudly into the phone.

"Yes, but I caught her." Alice's relieved voice floated somewhere far away from the phone. Bella's peals of laughter echoed loudly, and I sighed exasperatedly. This girl was a thrill seeker.

_Edward, we have to keep her away from Emmett. _I thought tiredly to him. He nodded wearily agreeing with me.

"Alice bring her home." Esme said worriedly.

"Already on my way." Alice replied, then the line cut off. She hung up.

Before Alice came home with a happy Bella strolling in after her, we had decided Bella's teachers.

Edward would teach her music and literature, Carlisle would teach her science, Esme would teach her art and about the plants and trees. I would teach her history, and Alice would teach her about the modern world as it went on today. Rosalie would teach her math, and Emmett, Edward, and I would teach her how to fight.

"We're home!" Alice said cheerily. We met them in the living room, and Carlisle checked Bella over for any injuries. Bella giggled when Carlisle's hand floated over her sides just under her ribcage, and one the soft skin of the bottom of her forearm.

"Ticklish, are we?" Carlisle smiled, and the rest of the family grinned wickedly when we heard this information.

Once Carlisle was done, Bella bounced up the stairs, heading towards the bathroom. Esme took that as her cue to enter the kitchen so she could prepare Bella's meal. Speaking of, we should all go hunting. We didn't get the chance to earlier this week when we found Bella. Has it really almost been two weeks since we found her?

Perhaps we should take Bella with us, to see if she can hunt for her own. It could also give us the chance to see how long she can go without hunting. Since her eyes don't change color, we don't have any indication as to when she needs to hunt, except for if she told us. Bella reappeared in the living room, dressed in blue shorts and a tank top, her hair dripping down her back.

"Oh Bella, come along. We have to dry that pretty hair. You don't want to catch cold do you?" Rosalie asked her, turning back to us and shrugging. Did Bella get sick? Could she? It's unlikely; she still is half vampire, but better safer then sorry . . . As we watched Bella be led back to the bathroom by Rosalie, Esme came out with a plate of food for Bella. I believe its called spaghetti.

We waited for Bella's arrival to the table, and she didn't disappoint when she came whirling into the dining room. Literally, she was spinning around the table. Then she skipped from side to side and gave each of us a huge kiss on the cheek. Edward chuckled when she released his cheek with a smack.

She settled down to eat her food, raising one hand to seep her hair behind her shoulders. Anxiously, we awaited her opinion on the food. She twirled the fork in the spaghetti, and raised it to her lips engulfing the fork eagerly. She took her time, chewing carefully then swallowing. I relaxed when her satisfaction and elation washed over me. I turned to Esme.

"She absolutely loves it." I spoke for Bella, since she was too busy shoving forkfuls of the food into her mouth. Esme sighed happily, her eyes sparkling. We watched with amusement and warmth as Bella devoured the food in what seems like no time, and then raised her plate bashfully, blushing as she indicated she wanted more food.

Esme obliged, and it made us happy to see the two of them so happy. Tomorrow, we would begin Bella's instruction into life.

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**AS ALWAYS, READERS! REVIEW!!**


	5. Clearer meanings are clearly needed

**ALAS! Beautiful, patient readers i have returned! What excuses could i poorly proffer to excuse my absence? none, but suffice to say school is weighing me down, especially cuz i have midterms now, and FCAT on its way. However, dear friends, i can'tr promise to return to a regluar and consistent update schedule. For now, i just have to try whenever i can to write- especially because now i feel like i just don't exactly know the direction i want this story to take.**

**In the beginning, i just thought this up and slapped it on Fanfic without a thought as to hwo i would proceed. But now, i just can't . . . at any rate you don't have to worry. I would NEVER put this story on hiatus or take it off, because i know how it feels to have a writer do that, or to not have them update for 2 or 3 months. it's excruciating, and frustrating, and disheartening, isn't it? **

**Disclaimer: Would but if i could own Twilight; alas, it can never be so, for it wouldn't and could never be my name and not SM's.**

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**EPOV**

"Okay, so the sun is a giant star. Just like the ones you see in the night sky, it's a gaseous ball of fire, however the sun is much bigger than your average star, and lights up our solar system. Remember what a solar system is; made up of planets, and a sun? And our galaxy is called the Milky Way galaxy? Good, you do. Now, the sun is the most important reason life can be sustained on Earth. Huh? Oh— what does sustained mean. Well, in this case, to be able to keep something going or something to that affect. Edward will go further to detail in your English lesson. Now, name the planets, and remember, Pluto is no longer considered a planet . . ."

I had turned my attention from the shelves of our library for a moment to spy on Carlisle's lesson. It has been four days since we began instructing Bella, and she had been learning at a rapid rate. We were astonished and pleased to learn that Bella can in fact read and write well. Well, let me rephrase that; she can copy any word we want perfectly. She can copy whole paragraphs or articles. So, we tried to get her to write what she was thinking or wanted. But, since she was not aloud to speak or communicate at all with her parents, she can't really word what she wants properly. Eventually, she just gave up, and no matter how much we begged her to keep trying, she flat out refused. Jasper says that it's because she's mortified, ashamed, and embarrassed at her lack of social skills— even though it's in no way her fault.

Besides that, she's progressing wonderfully. As a matter of fact, it turns out she has a fondness for the written word. I didn't need to coax her; she took to her lessons like a duck to water. All that I can do for her is to broaden her vocabulary and introduce her to the wonderful treasures of literature. Her math is satisfactory as well. In school terms, she'd be learning Algebra by now.

Musically speaking, I think Bella is a natural talent on the piano. Jasper insisted that she not spend all her time learning the piano, and also learn guitar (which, coincidentally, he plays). He's just jealous because I spend more time with her in lessons. I went back to perusing the shelves, satisfied when I ended up on a copy of Moby Dick. Something exciting this week, would be a good way to start her lessons off. I walked back to my room, once again picking up the music sheets and tapping them against the desk to keep them in place. I heard Alice humming as she skipped around her room, pulling out the latest issues of the _Times, People Magazine, _ad other odds and ends that would aid her in her lesson.

Esme was setting up her paints and canvases for her and Bella, and had a color palette— only the basic one, we decided not to overload Bella with shades and the subtle nuances of color just yet. I perked up when Carlisle shut the science book firmly, announcing the end of the lesson.

"Well done Bella. You're learning at an astounding rate. Hmm . . . that reminds me, I never did get to do the tests I wanted. Perhaps after supper then." And with a chuckle, Carlisle walked up the stairs to his study. I walked down next, my smile getting wider when I saw Bella practically vibrating in her seat, watching me with a feverish excitement.

"Settle down, young one, it's only a lesson. I have a book for you to read. It's called Moby Dick, and—" I stopped short when Bella bit her lip in an obvious attempt to keep her giggles at bay. I sighed wearily.

"I told Esme and Carlisle you were spending too much time with Emmett. _'Nonsense Edward!' _they say, _'let everyone else get a turn at Bella. . .' _Yeah well look how much good that did." I grumbled.

I settled down on the arm chair as she eagerly reclined on the love seat next to me. I handed her the copy I gave to her, and we both read, I aloud, and her with me. I knew the story by heart practically— an advantage of a vampire's perfect memory, so I was able to enjoy the range of emotions on Bella's face as we continued.

I was happy that Bella appreciated the fine literature I had given here. For the past few days, I had only given her small short stories to read. She also was quite a fan of Edgar Allen Poe it seemed. Three days ago, after her dinner, she came up to me with a familiar book in her hand. It was Jasper's old copy of Edgar Allen Poe's complete poems and short stories. She pointed toward the poem Annabel Lee, with a curious frown on her face. It took me a while to see what she wanted, but when she finally got fed up and wrote it down for me, I understood. Bella, being unable to speak, couldn't properly word her desire to me. But the message was clear enough: Edgar's style of writing confuses me, and the meaning is hidden. Could you read it and explain to me?

I was happy to oblige her wishes, as it only further impressed upon me that she had a natural thirst for the knowledge books held in their sacred bindings. Of course, her curiosity was sometimes worrisome. We had barely managed to escape disaster when Bella happened upon Emmett and Rosalie's Karma Sutra, which they neglected to put away in their closet. I snatched the book away just as she opened it to the first page, while Jasper extracted a promise from her to never read that book. Between his ire and mine, Emmett was lucky to be alive. As it was, we didn't car to deal with Rosalie's anger if we did kill him, so we just hid his arms in Canada. Rose was fine with that since she was angry at Emmett to for his irresponsibility.

I wasn't going to finish the whole book this lesson though. I stopped at chapter five even though Bella whined piteously for me to continue.

"Enough of that," I said gently, to cease her cries of discontent. "I have a piano lesson for you now. We're done with the baby stuff now; no more 'Row your boat', or all that. Now, I'm going to start you off with a fairly simple, yet beautifully complex piece called 'River flows in you' by Yiruma, a famous pianist. I've got the music sheets for you. First, I'll play it for you, and then you can try with the music sheets. Eventually, you won't need the sheets." She was complacent, happy even, now.

We sat down at the piano bench, and I paused as I held my hands over the keys. Bella nodded, urging me to continue. Satisfied that I had her attention, I played. The melody twisted and weaved around us, snaking through the room like a mist. I saw Bella, entranced by the music; switch her attention from my fingers to my face.

Soon enough, the song drifted to an end, and Bella clapped madly, her cheeks flushed a most enticingly beautiful pink. Her smile was enough to launch the boats of troy. I mockingly got up from my seat with an exaggerated grace, and bowed like a conductor, once this way, and then once another way. Then I motioned for her to get in the center of the seat, and play.

"Now it's your turn." I told her. Suddenly she didn't seem so enthusiastic. Shyly, almost reluctantly, she slid to the center and poised her fingers over the keys. She looked like she was remembering how I played, in addition to carefully reviewing the sheets of music. Then, taking a deep breath, she started. At first, it was slow, about a second slower than the song should be started but gradually, she started to gain confidence. As she should, the song was only three, about four minutes long. But in the middle of the song, she missed a couple keys, and became discouraged. Swiftly coming to her side, I cooed soothingly to her and rubbed her arms reassuringly.

"It was only the first try, don't worry, little fawn, poor little lamb." I cooed warmly. Bella sniffed, and nodded her head toward me. Then she straightened up her back, rolling her shoulders and once again played the song. This time, she got a note further than she had before, and then she missed a note. Bella huffed in frustration, uttering a little cry.

"Garr!" she growled in irritation. Then she picked up the papers from the stand and studied them carefully. She then set them back properly, and began the song again. This time, she didn't get any farther than the last place she stopped. Throwing her hands in the air, Bella looked to me with a face of utter bafflement. Chuckling, I sat on the bench next to her, and she scooted over to give me some room.

Turning to look her in the eye, I gave her some advice. "You're thinking too hard about playing the song. Just _play, _and it will all go as it should for you. Don't think about how you _have_ to hit this key, then hit that key _right_ afterwards or you'll mess up. Because when you think you might mess up, and the more you think about it, you _will_ mess up. Okay? Just breathe, take a deep breath. You don't need to play it perfectly any time soon. It takes practice to get good."

She looked at me with a mixture of exasperation and speculative disbelief with a sullen pout, and when I figured out what she was trying to say, I laughed.

"What, you think I was born knowing how to play the piano? No, I had to work at it, and practice a lot. After I became a vampire, I got three times as good playing the ivory as I did when I was human. Add to the fact that I had 98 years of never ending days and nights, and I was bound to get at the level I am now. So chin up, you'll get this in no time. Remember, you're part vampire too." I smiled at her, and she looked at me before her lips twitched. Then she broke out into a small smile, which quickly got bigger. She hugged me, and I hugged her back, reveling in her warmth and the fluttery heartbeat like a humming bird's.

"Alright, class dismissed." She and I both chuckled as we got up to walk outside where the rest of the family was. I was her last lesson of the day, so she had the rest of the evening to herself. Carlisle and Esme were sitting on the chaise lounges under the umbrella, even though there was no sun out. Emmett and Jasper were tossing the football back and forth, while Alice and Jasper alternated between watching their mates, and watching their magazines.

"We ought to go hunting soon." Jasper remarked in an off hand manner as he passed the ball back to Emmett.

"I wonder . . ." Carlisle murmured, and I turned to him, also interested when I saw his thoughts.

"You think she might? Her eyes are the color they were when they were human. They don't darken or lighten, so we can't say if she's thirsty or not." I said in response to his query. Carlisle nodded thoughtfully as he refined his thought process.

"What are you talking about?" Rosalie asked, right before Alice jumped up and pranced over to us squealing.

"She's kind of thirsty, so this will be the perfect opportunity to test it." Alice trilled, her large eyes glittering pleasantly. I ruffled her hair in mock annoyance, and she squeaked before darting out from under my hand and glaring at me.

"What, do you mean whether Bella drinks blood or not?" Emmett asked, frowning. I nodded, and Carlisle explained.

"It would be better for us to learn now, whether Bella can survive on food alone or not. And judging by the fact that she's thirsty, I'd say not. Then again, how long can she go without hunting and just eating? Can she last 3 weeks, a month perhaps? We can see now, instead of waiting later when she might attack a human."

We all agreed that this was a good plan, especially because we had postponed our hunting trip when we found Bella. So, we got into our cars and drove far out of town and into the forest. Bella, Jasper, Alice, and I were riding in my Volvo. Emmett and Rosalie were in the jeep, while Carlisle and Esme were in the Mercedes. We stopped at a hunting ground we knew had lots of game, and got out.

"Okay, so how is this going to work? We can't exactly have her next to us when we hunt, it'd be dangerous." Rosalie pointed out. I grew worried about what one of might do if we were hunting and was distracted by Bella's heartbeat and her scent.

Carlisle nodded his head like he'd thought about it before. He probably had, but I hadn't searched his mind.

"Well, one of us will have to stay behind while the rest of us hunt, watching Bella. Then, we'll observe her hunting, and the person watching her will hunt after we are done."

I immediately volunteered, smug when Jasper and Rosalie cursed me in their heads. Bella smiled delightedly up at me, hugging my arm as she stuck closely to my side. I smiled back down at her and rumpled her hair.

Carlisle smiled and said, "Expect us in about an hour." Then, they were gone as they ran off in search of any good catches.

During the next hour, Bella and I amused ourselves by pointing things out. Well, Bella pointed and I explained. So far, I had taught her the names of several trees, a rabbit, a flock of ravens, and the mountains that bordered the horizon. She was most interested in the mountains too, wanting to know why they were so tall, and how they were formed. I answered the first part of her question, but left the last part for Carlisle to answer. I didn't want to unknowingly ruin any lesson he had for her on tectonic plates.

By the time they came back, Bella and I were watching the clouds and I was showing her what shapes I saw in the formations. My attention returned to the forest edge when the rest of the family returned. Emmett was looking particularly untidy, with blood splattered across his shirt. Not that he minded, he was grinning as smug as can be. I was surprised when Bella sidled close to me, and somewhat behind me. I glanced down at her, to see her eyes trained firmly on Emmett, her tiny hands gripping my shirt like a frightened little kitten.

_She's not scared of me, is she Eddie? _Emmett asked worriedly. I glared at him for being so obtuse as to think she wouldn't be afraid of a bloody man, before I turned my attention to her. I could feel my features softening as soon as her big bright eyes locked in on my expression.

"You're not afraid of Emmet, are you lamb?" I asked her softly. She deliberately slid her gaze over to Emmett, eyeing his torn and bloodied shirt for a fraction of a second before her eyes darted back to mine and she huddled closer to me.

Rosalie scoffed, and I turned to growl at her, but the tenderness slightly softening her features stopped me.

"What's she got to be afraid of Emmett for? He's been nothing but sweet to her." Rosalie stated. I stared at her incredulously for a minute. Was she not standing next to him?

Rosalie caught the look I gave her and glared at me. "What?" she snapped.

"I think what he's trying to say, but is too stunned to vocalize, is that your question isn't worth dignifying with a response." Jasper murmured as he sauntered over to Bella and me, Alice in tow.

"She is right though, Bella. Why are you scared of Emmett? Is it because of the way he looks right now?"

A jerk of her head— up and down— was her reply as she chewed on her lip and shuffled a little away from me to give me some space. Even then, I could still feel her right next to my side.

Jasper's mouth made an 'o' of understanding, then he quickly ran over to punch Emmett, then zipped back over to gently ruffle Bella's hair.

"It's alright, Bella, it's just sometimes, Emmett has a penchant for playing with his food. Oh, penchant means a strong and continued inclination."

"Yeah, Bella, I'm sorry I scared you, I just like to play with my food before I eat it." Emmett interrupted Jasper, a sheepish grin on his face. "And since their bears, I—"

Bella gripped my shirt even tighter. Suddenly, I understood her aversion to Emmett, and I motioned him to stop speaking before I pulled Bella over to face me, holding her tiny shoulders in my hand. For a moment, I once again bitterly cursed her parents for not feeding her properly or else she would be the same size as other children.

"Bella," I struggled to maintain my laughter, but no matter what I did, chuckles kept spilling out. "oh, honey, you're not afraid that we'd let you hunt bears alone are you?"

Jasper gave a shout of surprise. "Oh my God, she thought she would have to hunt bears like Emmett!"

We all broke into fits of laughter. I heard Emmett laugh in his mind that he was glad Bella wasn't afraid of him. Oh, of all the things to be afraid of, she'd be afraid that we would let her get hurt when she was hunting! Hugging Bella to me, I whispered silkily in her ear, "We would never allow any harm to come to you. Come on, we just want to see if you can hunt, or else we'll hunt for you." I smiled softly when she nodded her head hesitantly, still snuggled into my chest.

"Bella." Carlisle called her attention to him, and she skipped up to him. He looked her directly in the eye as he explained his plan.

"Now, Bella, you're going to be running with us, because I want to see how fast you are. Also, when we get to a certain area, I'll stop and have you smellt he air to see what you smell. Whatever you smell, if it calls to you, go to it and we'll be right behind you. Now, if you're first hunt goes well, then I'll send you with a member of the family to hunt generally alone. Sound good?" He offered her a warm paternal smile when she energetically consented with her fervent nodding.

And then we were off.

I knew Bella was a half-vampire. I remember when the letter said she was just like a regular vampire, with maybe just a few slight differences. But, I never expected her to be so _fast_. She trailed behind me, running on my heels, and it appeared she loved it. She laughed freely and gaily, looking at me excitedly before returning her attention back in front of her. I was the fastest in the family, and I was running in front of everybody, so she was almost as fast as me and most assuredly faster than everybody else.

Emmett and Jasper whooped, laughing to the wind as we all marveled at Bella. She was as graceful as Alice; moving like a dancer, she might even have been more graceful than Alice. When Alice ran, she looked like a gazelle, but when Bella ran she was as lithe as a deer, looking like she was bounding across the ground. It didn't even seem like her feet touched the floor— perhaps only the lightest tap, the pads of her feet gently caressing the ground.

"Alright, let's stop!" Carlisle shouted, sounding excited. We all stopped abruptly and in sync. I shared a chuckle with the rest of the family when they realized this too. I turned my attention to Bella though when I felt her stiffen. Worried, I assumed she was hurt, but when she darted off into the brush I realized she had locked In on her prey.

_OH, this is going to be good! _Alice crowed In her mind. She must have had a vision of Bella hunting. I tried to read it in her mind, but she blocked me by singing Caramelldansen speedy cake remix in her head **(AN: LOL, i luv that song. Listen to it!)**. I didn't particularly mid the song, it was catchy. You just would never catch me enjoying it . . . where people could see me. But when she switches languages every verse it's extremely annoying. From Swedish to English to Japanese, even Arabic! Ugh, I quickly escaped her mind. Besides, I heard Bella giggling.

"What could she be giggling for?" Esme asked confusion evident in her tone and facial expressions.

"Perhaps she shares with Emmett a sick pleasure derived from playing with her food." Rosalie suggested wryly.

Of course, we should have known that Bella would do the completely unexpected and total opposite of what we thought she would do. The sight that greeted us when we saw Bella and her 'prey' had me falling down on the ground in hysterical fits of laughter. There Bella was, hugging an average sized grizzly bear, sitting cross legged on the ground. She looked utterly too pleased with herself, and it occurred to me that she might not have understood what we meant when referring to hunting.

"Um, I think there's been a miscommunication of some sort." Jasper said softly, and Carlisle just nodded, a completely puzzled and amused look on his face.

"Oh, Jesus," Emmett muttered, sighing as he rubbed his temples.

"Bella, stop playing with your _food! Literally_!"

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**Ok, folks, whaddya think? I suck, get off fanfic and stop wasting your time . . . ? Or pretty damn oggd, great even, but not worth the wait? Or just plain old job well done.**

**XOXO, Velvet**


	6. Leveling out

**Alright readers, after a 4 moth wait . . . i present the new chapter! I aplogize for the long wait, but, i had to prioritze, and school had to come first. It's been killer, FCAT ended 3 weeeks ago, and now we're scrambling for Finals. So, you can't expect regualr updates, but it wont be another four moths, okay? I'll either have to keep the chapter s a bit shorter than i would noramlly write them, or wait longer between updates, your choice. So, enough rambling!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any aspect of Twilights. Not even stock. . . . **

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**Jasper POV**

It was now July, meaning Bella had been with our family for little over a month now. Teaching her things were so fun, especially history. Our guitar lessons also held a special place in my heart though. Her face would light up when she completed a song with no mistakes. She progressed rapidly each day, and was starting to get more comfortable communicating with each member of our family. Of course, we had each tried our hardest to assimilate her in our own way.

Bella was also putting forth tremendous effort. Every evening, when Carlisle had work that day, Bella would wait at the door for Carlisle after Alice told us he would be home shortly. I knew our father appreciated this immensely. Each time he saw her at the door, his mood would shift to pride, happiness, and love. As I sat in the living room, reading a Dean Koontz book, I remembered the first time she waited for Carlisle.

_**(Flashback)**_

"Alice, when is Carlisle coming home?" Esme asked Alice, as she washed the dishes left from Bella's supper. Bella was next to Esme drying the plates and utensils; she insisted in helping Esme, so our mother just humored her.

"He'll be home in 30 minutes, Esme." Alice said distractedly. She was ransacking our closet, sorting the clothes into two piles: One pile would last another season, another was destined for Salvation Army or the trash if Alice decided not even they deserved to live again. The sound of glassware clinking and Bella's distracted humming were the background music for our quiet evening. Most of us were in the living room, flipping through channels at such a speed, I wondered if we would make the remote malfunction. We were mostly listening to Bella's humming. We learned early on that Bella hummed when anxious, or bored, she even did it involuntarily. Sometimes she hummed songs she knew, or made ones up. This time, she made this one up, though it had a vague similarity to Debussy's Arabesque.

They finished up in the kitchen, and now came into the living room with us. Emmett jumped up from in front of the lounge and moved to the couch. Esme smiled, and thanked him as she sat down. However, Bella didn't sit down with her, but sidled over to the door, looking at the clock.

"She's waiting for Carlisle." Edward said, not looking up from his car magazine. I smiled in understanding, and the rest of gave each other secret grins before we returned to looking normal (well, not _normal, _obviously because we're not— ugh, yeah). Occasionally, we would sneak peaks at Bella's patient form. She leaned against the wall, with one ankle casually crossed over the other, and a fist on her hip. She was dressed in a nice spaghetti-strapped dress of periwinkle blue cotton. She had a fondness for dresses, and liked pants and sneakers as well. I mean, she loved cargos, and Bermudas, and board shorts. Alice was only comforted by the fact that she liked dresses a lot.

The door swung open, and Bella straightened up and moved into the middle of the doorway. Carlisle was looking down as he kicked his shoes off by the coat rack. His eyes flicked up, and he smiled at Bella.

"Evening, Duck." Carlisle was always giving her different nicknames. Ducky, love, bell, any and all. Bella smiled brightly at Carlisle and moved to give him a hug around his middle. Carlisle looked a little surprised, but returned the hug.

"What's all this for?" Carlisle asked her as she released him, and held her arm out, hand outreached. Carlisle looked at us suspiciously. "What did you all do? And why are you making poor Bella suck up for you?"

Esme laughed lightly, as she walked toward Carlisle. "The children did nothing Carlisle, Bella just wanted to wait for you at the door. I think she's asking for your coat." She gently took Carlisle's coat from him, and gave it to Bella who carefully hung it on the coat rack. She spun around and gave him a kiss on his cheek, then serenely walked up the stairs, presumably to her room. Carlisle watched her go, and then turned to us with a mock disappointed look at us.

"A month she's been with us, and she's showed me more love and gratitude then you all have in 20 years." He sniffed affectedly, and then laughed with us.

_**(End Flashback)**_

From then on, Bella waited at the door for him everyday. Esme waited with her as well for most of the time, and then if she was busy would simply meet Carlisle after Bella greeted him.

I put down my book for a moment, and decided to listen into Alice's modern society lesson. We were dismayed to know that Bella knew nearly nothing of the modern world. She knew well enough about a vacuum, oven, and a phone, but she nothing about a computer, iPods, radios, cars, that sort of thing.

"Alright, this is a laptop Bella. It's made by the company Apple. Yes, the same company who made the iPod, good!" Alice crowed proudly. I heard Bella's soft giggling. Alice proceeded to explain how you use it just like a regular computer. She was progressing fairly well.

She didn't even know about music! Edward of course was filling in her holes nicely. Bella loved classical music, but also really liked pop music and rock. She was more into the timeless masters of rock: Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix, and Blue Oyster Cult. But she enjoyed modern rock too like, Mudvayne, My Chemical Romance (Esme was concerned that her love for MCR was some kind of indicator she was feeling depressed, but we soothed her fears), and Dashboard Confessional, and numerous others. She had an oddball taste in music though. From techno to classical, and any others we never experienced before, she was bringing to our attention. I recall one particular lesson.

_**(Flashback)**_

"Has anyone seen Bella?" Edward said, walking into the backyard. I looked up from Alice, and shook my head, staring at him critically.

"I last saw her in—" Rosalie said, then stopped when the stereo from her room started blasting this psychedelic melody. It reminded me of the 70s. Or maybe the Wallflower era if the 60s knew about techno music.

Emmett cocked his head, listening closely as his foot tapped to the beat. "You know, it's actually pretty good."

"Yeah, it is! I bet Bella found it." Alice said, as she swayed to the beat in my arms. We all trouped to Bella's room. The music sounding better as we got closer, I was even enjoying it, nodding my head to the beat. What I saw in Bella's room, though, was even better.

Bella was dancing around her room, eyes closed and humming to the song. She wasn't goofy or anything. Actually, she was very graceful. Of course, I got a little critical when she swayed her hips in perfect time to the beat. Rosalie better not be teaching her to dance!

Then, I knew it was all Bella when she started spinning around the room like a ballerina. She stopped after her tenth spin, giggling madly as she opened her eyes. Then she squeaked and went still, blushing madly. Then she just turned her eyes heavenward, with a big sigh, and then started dancing again. Edward laughed, and then joined her in dancing. They spun around the room, and were laughing. Rosalie and Emmett were dancing as well.

"Hey, Bella! What's this song?" Emmett asked her, laughing as he spun Rosalie around in his arms. She shrieked, but he ignored her.

She moved away fro Edward, and pointed to the iPod Edward bought her when they went electronics shopping together. After Alice had taught Bella about iPods and how to use them, Edward decided Bella should get one. Bella had chosen a blue one. In the display, a title and the band were there. The song was called Electric Feel by MGMT.

Then, after the song ended, another one started. It had a weird game sound, yet with some cute beeping in it. I laughed, only Bella would find this crazy, yet cool stuff. The song was Hello Seattle by Owl City. I told the rest of the family this, and they enjoyed it. Alice had now taken Bella from Edward, and they were a mesmerizing pair to watch as they danced together. It was like they were floating and dancing, and just swaying like trees in a breeze. I checked the iPod, and there were two other songs under them.

That evening, we had an impromptu dance party in Bella's room, as the sun sank and the moon rose up to above our houses.

_**(End Flashback)**_

"Yeah, those were good times, weren't they?" Edward said his voice alarmingly close. I jumped up, and saw Edward sitting on the couch, smirking. He had been sitting next to me, presumably the entire time I was lost in my thoughts. He only smirked wider as I figured it out, and I glared at him. Sometimes, that dude seriously scared me. And _I_ was the one who fought in the newborn wars!

"Anything troubling you, Edward?" I asked him. He shook his head, a light smile on his face. He got up from the couch and walked toward the window.

"There's going to be a storm soon, Alice said. What do you say to a game of baseball?" Edward said his eyes on me, or rather his reflection's eyes on me. I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow.

"You know I'd never turn down a game of baseball, Cullen." I said.

"Well, I wanted to make sure you still weren't licking your wounds after last time's humiliating defeat Whitlock." Edward said, turning to me and smiling smugly. I snorted, and then laughed.

"That won't happen again Cullen. You had my team embers spooked, but now . . . now we're onto your tricks."

He smiled at me, and then turned thoughtful. "Will you teach Bella the finer points of the game? I'll help you, of course."

"Sure. Yeah, I forgot Bella wouldn't know how to play baseball. We can explain it to her on the way there, right?" Edward nodded.

"Carlisle wants to see how fast Bella can run, so she'll be running for the first half of the distance, and depending on how fast she is, she may or may not run the rest of the way."

I nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

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**OK, how was that readers? Let me hear you in your reviews. Oh, btw, check out te songs i metioned in my story, they are excellent. Owl City is a must, and Electric Feel feels _good. Like bad company. So, review plz!_**

**_XOXOXOX,  
Velvet_**


	7. A whole other level

**My brave, ever patient readers! Thank you for sticking with me so far, if you haven't already abandonded this story. I feel like i have no excuses to offer, but really: I failed chemistry so i have to take summer school, i'm getting ready to take my learner's permit test, and well . . . on that note, i promsie to make updates as regular as i can. For those who read Twilight's reign, i am now working on the first chapter for it's sequal, titled the Dark Night. . . i couldn't help it. Also, there's this idea for a new story that i'm toying with . . . featuring a nanny Bella. Do you think i should go for it? Oh, how i do go on! Here is your long awaited chapter!**

**Disclaimer( those are important): In what universe would i have the audacity to even imitate Stephanie Meyer, much less pretend to be her? Seriously, what universe, cuz i wanna go there . . . **

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We decided we would run to the baseball field.

"Edward, stay with Bella, and make sure she remembers the way." Carlisle instructed me. I nodded my assent, and turned to a bashful and smiling Bella, who was sitting on the couch.

Rosalie came over to Bella's side. "Bella, why not have a bite to eat before we go? You're going to be hungry after playing all day with us."

Bella nodded gently, before taking Rose's hand in hers and walking towards the kitchen. Esme followed them, and made Bella something to eat. I turned towards the staircase and ascended, the busy preparations of my family and Bella's cheerful sounds as she dined my soundtrack as I walked toward my room. I stepped in, closing the door behind me. I made my way over to my closet, rifling through for my baseball jersey, hat, and my trusted baseball bat. I retrieved them, and donned the baseball jersey, my white t-shirt fine for me to wear underneath. I changed my jeans from the black boot cuts to my faded Levi's. As I put them on, I had a random thought about how miraculous it was that it was safe in my closet, and hadn't been burned already by Alice.

_Only because you look great in them, which is the only reason, they are still alive Edward Cullen! Don't push your luck. _Alice whispered mischievously to me in her thoughts. I chuckled ruefully, before heading out with my stuff and going down the stairs.

On the way down, I was passed by a two blurs I knew were Alice and Bella. Alice had plans to do Bella's hair in a ponytail that shouldn't really take so much effort, but apparently it was a fancy one so Alice just took that excuse and rolled with it. Also, she was going to change her outfit.

"Remember Alice, she can't play baseball in heels. Oh, and none of that skinny jeans crap." I reminded Alice pointedly, reminding her of when she forced Emmett and Jasper to wear skinny jeans, and their team was beaten by mine's mercilessly. She huffed, but agreed with me. I heard Esme laughing gently in the kitchen as she finished cleaning up, and Emmett huffing as he sourly recalled the memory.

I waited patiently by my piano, running my fingers feather light over it, as I suddenly was overcome with the inspiration for a new composition. It would have to wait though, after the game. I looked outside to the darkening sky, smiling. There was going to be a hell of a storm, according to Alice. We had maybe three hours before the torrent of rain, thunder, and lightning hit Forks. The wind picked up suddenly before dying down after a couple of minutes as if to emphasize my point.

I perked up, turning to face the staircase as Bella's giggles descended down moments before she did. Alice and Bella skipped over to the couch and sat down. Alice looked at me before cutting her eyes back to Bella, and pointing at me behind Bella's back. Bella turned around, and smiled at me, and Alice slipped away to go find Jasper.

I walked over to Bella, standing in front of her as I looked down at her. Bella's chocolate locks were secured in a high ponytail that spilled over her milky shoulders, exposed in a light tank top, deep green in color and form fitting. I suppose it had one of those built in bras, since it didn't look like she was wearing one. Not that I was intentionally looking or anything, I just noticed it . . . honestly! She was wearing some cargo pants that ended just under her knee, and gave the appearance of being loose-fitting and baggy, but wasn't at all, and it settled low on her hips. She had on Timberland boots, and I chuckled at seeing Bella's dainty feet covered up In clunky, yet not at all bad looking wheat colored Tim's.

I held out a hand in invitation, and she gladly accepted it as I helped her stand. She suddenly gripped my hand and nearly dragged me out of the house, to wait for everyone else in the driveway. She had let go of my hand— I tried to ignore the sudden and saddening loss of warmth— and was eagerly bouncing one leg, as she held an arm around herself. She was humming, "Stairway to Heaven" by Lynrd Skynrd. I mentally wiped away a tear of pride. Everyday her musical palette expanded and grew, under my careful tutelage. No bell of mine was going to be listening to Niki Minaj! **(A/N: LOL! That's just a personal joke, I actually like Niki Minaj, but could you imagine Bella listening to her?) **Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, she seemed completely enthralled by Lady Gaga . . . I'm sure the word lady is used in the loosest terms with her. She's just weird, but damn if her songs weren't morbidly catchy! God, it's like that stupid song by Billy Joel back in the 80's: "We didn't start the fire".

I heard Emmett and Jasper leaving the garage where we kept our baseball equipment, and Bella and I both turned our heads toward them. Emmett bounced (in a manly way of course . . .) toward us, with a huge gym bag slung over his shoulder. Jasper sauntered behind him at a more casual pace, also carrying a gym bag, as well as his jersey, slung over his back. His hat was turned backwards over his head.

"We got everything I here! Alice even packed Tinkerbell here a custom-made jersey of her won, and a hat." Emmett said grinning wildly as he affectionately ruffled Bella's hair. He did this very often, as both Alice and Rosalie would rip his entire arm off if he so much as made a twitch in the direction of their hair. Bella didn't mind though, she just smiled and giggled patiently. The rest of them filed out of the house, dressed in full Cullen baseball gear, and ready to go. Carlisle was the last to go out, locking the door and turning toward us on the porch.

"We all ready to go, I expect?" Carlisle asked rhetorically, looking around. And then, we ran. I was first, with Bella and Carlisle on either side of me. I was the fastest of them all, but I wanted to go slow so that Bella knew the way. However, an urge swept through me, and I decided to indulge. Still running, I turned to Bella, and asked her, "Think you can remember your way Bella?"

"Mm-hmm!" Bella agreed, nodding with a big smile on her face. It appears she loves to run, I mused, grinning. I turned to Carlisle then, and called his attention.

"Yes, Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"I was wondering if this would be a good time to test Bella's speed?" I said to him, and I watched as he mulled the idea over. After a minute, he turned and nodded.

"Wonderful idea Edward, I think that would be fun to watch. We know that she at least can go as fast as a regular vampire."

I grinned, and stopped so suddenly the others ran a little ways ahead before they stopped. They came back to me, confused why I halted so abruptly.

"I propose a race." I said casually, rubbing my hands together somewhat maniacally. Emmett of course, was first to sign up.

"Yes! I'd love to rub your face in the dirt." He boomed, clapping his hands together. Bella started when a sound akin to thunder came from his hands. Rosalie slapped Emmett's big head, and I sniggered at him as he complained.

"Sadly, Emmett, this race is not for you," I clarified, "this race is between me and Bella—"

I couldn't finish my sentence, because a small brown and white blur attacked me, wrapping around my middle with a vice-like grip, and laughing loudly. I actually had to take a step back, and then hoisted Bella up as she removed her hands from around my waist to secure a chokehold around my neck.

"Ah, Bella, I'm glad you agree!" I choked out, hugging her firmly.

"Ah!" Bella realized she was choking me, and released me, springing back from me.

"Go easy on her, okay Eddie?" Rosalie sniffed, looking bored.

"I'm sure I won't need to go easy with her like I did with you Rosie-kins." I cooed condescendingly at her, laughing when she glared at me. Alice volunteered to be the starter, and the rest of the family gave us space as Bella and I lined up to begin.

Bella looked confused, so I explained to her. "Okay, so we are going to see who can run the fastest. I'll be going as fast as I can, and you will too, but I'll be sure to tell you which direction to go should you get in front of me. Alice will start us off, so when she says 'go', you run." Bella nodded, and then turned to face forward, a look of concentration falling over her features. I chuckled silently to myself— I hoped she wouldn't be crushed when she lost.

Alice hopped in place. "Okay. Ready . . . set . . . GO!"

I tore off, and surprisingly Bella was right next to me. We slipped and melted through the forest like wraiths, or spirits that are known, yet not seen or heard. Bella's laughter slipped past us and was left behind, peals of laughter that settled themselves on the boughs of the trees like fruit burst from the spring. I decided to put on some more speed.

I was very close to my final speed. I didn't know this for a fact, because I had never run this fast, yet I instinctively knew I was close. I was pleasantly surprised that Bella was matching me. Not even Carlisle, my second in speed, had ever caused me to run this fast in our races from decades ago. I poured on all my speed, and it took Bella by surprise— judging by her face— that I could still go faster. But she gave it her best, and raced after me, behind me by a centimeter. She was furiously trying to match me exactly though, even pass me if she could. Her breath came out in fast, furious pants, her cheeks flushed a brilliant vermillion. The field was in sight . . . we were a mile from it . . .

And just like that, in a second we were there. I briefly calculated our speed as we placed our first step in the field. The amount of speed we had just reached was incredible, I'll say that.

I was broken from my train of thought, when Bella's legs suddenly buckled underneath her, and she was rushing to the ground. I scooped her up quickly in my arms, skidding to a full stop, and landing on the ground on my knees. Bella struggled for breath, and I panicked. Had I run her too hard, too fast? Was it possible for a hybrid to have respiratory problems? I quickly, yet gently, placed her in my lap, cradling her.

"Steady breaths, Bella. I am sorry, my darling girl, I pushed you too hard did I not? I won't do such a thing again, be assured of that. But you did great, Tink, you really did, my little bell of my life." I cooed to her as I worked to soothe her. I worked to exaggerate my calm breathing, letting her feel my chest go up and down.

"Feel my chest, Bell, feel it go up and down in that steady motion. Think you can do that for me? There you go . . ." I rubbed her arm as her breathing slowed, getting deeper.

I heard the rest of my family approaching. I checked my watch. They were arriving two minutes after us?

"Wooh! Oh, my god, that was the best race ever. Like, five seconds after you started you two were gone!" Emmett hollered, running toward us with his fists pumped up.

"Yes, well, maybe we shouldn't have done that. She matched toe to toe until we were a mile from here. Then she dropped back one-twelfth of an inch because I poured on my last bit of speed. I shouldn't have showboated." I muttered, smoothing Bella's hair. They realized what I meant, when they saw Bella limply sitting on my lap, her breath still to erratic and hard for my liking.

"I said go easy on her Edward!" Rosalie spat at me as she dropped to Bella's side, rubbing her back. Carlisle rushed to her, checking her over. Bella smiled at him, and waved him away, with just a little bit of fatigue.

"Do you feel faint, Bella? I suggest you not run like that for a while, at least until we see if you'll grown stronger, or we can figure out why it hit your lungs so hard to run like that. Does this mean you can't hold your breath indefinitely like a full vampire?" Carlisle went from asking her questions, to asking himself questions.

She suddenly jumped from my arms and way from the group that surrounded her. When her feet hit the ground, she stumbled a little, and I shot up to catch her. But she caught herself, shook her head slowly, and then twirled before stopping in front of us and smiling her sadly rare mega-watt smile.

We laughed at her antics, and asked her once more if she was alright. She nodded, bobbing her head up and down in a child-like fashion.

Carlisle, Alice, and Emmett set up the bases. As they did that, Jasper and I explained the game of baseball to Bella. She seemed to understand it just fine. So we told the rest of the family she was ready, and then started picking teams.

"Okay, so because our numbers are even now, I'll be playing as well." Esme started off.

"I'll be team captain this time around." Rosalie declared placing herself in the middle of the ring we created.

"And I as well," Carlisle said casually, stepping in front of Rosalie smiling. Then the cacophony started. Alice and Bella started jumping from side to side, up and down in place, squealing, and Alice calling, "Me! Pick me! And Bella, pick her!"

Emmett, not wanting to feel left out, hauled up Bella and Alice on his beefy shoulders, crowing, "Step right up folks, we've got the best of them all right here! Come on, don't be shy! Pick US!"

Rosalie sighed gustily, exasperated. "Get over here Emmett!"

Emmett hooted, putting Alice and Bella on the ground, where Jasper scooped Alice up to him quickly, dropping a kiss on her head. Alice hugged him, and Bella pouted in mock indignation that Rosalie didn't choose her.

Carlisle beckoned Bella forth with one hand. "Come on, _Bella Libera _(**A/N: That's Italian for beautiful spirit!)**,you're with me."

Bella made some sort of happy squeaking sound that I found hilarious as she merrily bounded over to Carlisle. She stood right beside him, and leaned against his arm. Carlisle placed his hand on her head, patting her head, and I saw Esme smile warmly. She noticed me looking at her, and smiled at me too.

_I know it's silly . . . but seeing Carlisle just being so sweet and caring with her, and she's a little girl . . . it just makes me very happy. Do you understand what I mean? _Esme thought.

A minute lowering of my chin let her know I understood, and she smiled beatifically once again before returning her gaze to the father-daughter-duo.

Rosalie called Alice and Jasper, Carlisle called Esme and I. Alice was the pitcher, Carlisle first to bat. Bella and I were on the outfield.

**(A/N: Sorry, but I know about as much about baseball as 50 cent knows about Shaun White . . . so can you just use the movie as a reference? Arigato!) **

Emmett was up to bat, but got caught out, by Alice. Everything was going fine . . . until suddenly everything went wrong.

Emmett and Alice were hissing in each other's faces, Emmett convinced that Alice was using her power to cheat, and Alice because she just found out it was he that set fire to her Hermes scarves collection, when she originally thought it had been a freak accident started by all us men. We paid with our lives— personal shopping assistants to Alice for 3 months. We don't like to talk about it.

"Admit it, pipsqueak, you totally blew that last call, just because Rosalie totally made Jasper face plant in the mud and get his uniform dirty. Not lie it even matters if it's dirty because, hello! It's baseball! But your crazy OCD ass can't take it!" Emmett snarled, smirking way too big for a man who was about to get his balls removed in a completely painful way.

Alice screamed shrilly in frustration. I saw Jasper start to stalk over to them, her scream igniting his instincts to protect his mate at all costs.

"Even if I did— which I did not— you deserved it for not only lying and getting both Jasper and Edward in trouble, but you ruined my scarves and you knew how much I loved them!" Alice spat, her eyes starting to glow like black coals in her stark white face, somehow getting paler in her rage.

"Just like you knew how much my games meant to me, but did you care? No, you thought it would be funny to burn all my game consoles and the games that went with them, thinking that was perfect retaliation for when I threw away the outfit you wanted me to wear away! That was way overboard Alice! I'm a grown damn man, I don't do dress-up!" Emmett roared at her.

Carlisle and Esme gasped. "Alice, how could you?" Carlisle scolded her. At the same time he spoke, Jasper had reached Emmett and, yanking him by his shoulder, turned him around to face him and hissed in a deadly quiet voice, "Do not speak to Alice like that."

Emmett shoved Jasper back roughly, a grave mistake on his part. "Screw off Jasper, this wouldn't happen if you learned to control your wife better."

Famous. Last. Words.

Both Alice and Jasper pounced on Emmett, and Rosalie rushed over, growling, to help her mate. Esme and Carlisle tried the more peaceful approach to get them to stop. I really love my mother and father, really I do. But sometimes their "peace and love makes the world go round" attitude really irks me.

Emmett was suddenly thrown by Alice to the ground, and she jumped away from the fray.

"Don't blame me if you have horrible aim Alice!" Emmett screamed at her, springing back up. Alice had the baseball in her hands, and she tightened her hands around it. Bella was 30 feet behind her, but it didn't occur to me to be alarmed at that. Alice threw the baseball at Emmett, but he caught it in his hands. In retaliation, Emmett hurled it at Alice, but jasper had caught her up in his arms, jumping away from the oncoming ball.

Too late, I saw it.

I screamed. Alice screamed. When we heard the ball go through her with a sickening liquid slurp and bone crunching sound, Bella cried out too.

The ball hit Bella right under her breasts, somewhere in the middle of the underside of her breasts and her belly button. But it didn't just stop there; Emmett had thrown the ball so hard, it impacted, and Bella's skin- though firmer than the average humans, was still a little more impressionable than a vampire's— gave way, making the ball go right through her. The ball landed behind her with a thump, glistening red with her blood, and some of her skin stuck to it. It was so sickening to see . . . I couldn't move. None of us could.

Bella's heavy panting startled me out of my stupor. Her mouth cracked open, and a short, soft wail came out. She fell to the ground on her knees, curled in on herself.

* * *

**okay! As always, give to me your comments, concerns, complaints, any questions and i will answer thtem iether by responding or adressing them in the next author's note that always preludes my chapters. Thank you- and goodnight (or good morning, or good afternoon, or evening)!**


	8. HIATUS

Dear readers, I am truly sorry. However, after months of trying to awaken some creative flow in me, I must simply accept the truth. I no longer care about this fanfiction. It hurts me, not because I genuinely wanted to finish this story, but because I know that you— the ones who favorite and reviewed faithfully— will be hurt by this. But, I no longer want to continue this. To be perfectly honest, I don't really care for Twilight fanfiction. So, this story is over. I fanyone wants to adopt it, feel free to message me, but leave careful instructions as to how to go about it, because I am clueless to all that. Thanks. For those who are fans of anime/manga, though, I am actually thinking of trying my hand at Naruto and Ghost Hunt fanfics.


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